Laser ignition was developed by the U.S. government. One of the goals of laser ignition has been to increase the ability of the laser igniter to reliably ignite the propelling charge and increase safety. To date, these systems typically comprise a solid-state flash lamp pumped laser system.
FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional diagram of a traditional solid-state flash lamp pumped laser 100 comprising an active medium, a pumping scheme, and a resonator. The active medium (i.e., a solid state laser rod 105) is the material that, when excited, amplifies light and generates a laser beam. The pumping scheme comprises pump chambers 120, 130. The pump chamber 110 comprises a flash lamp 120 and a laser cavity flow tube 125. The pump chamber 115 comprises a flash lamp 130 and a laser cavity flow tube 135.
The flash lamps 120, 130, excite the solid-state laser rod 105, causing the solid-state laser rod 105 to lase. The resonator comprises two mirrors, one on either end of the solid-state laser rod 105, one of which is partially reflective. The resonator allows the laser beam to pass back and forth through the solid-state laser rod 105, amplifying the laser beam.
The laser cavity flow tube 125 surrounds the flash lamp 120 in a dimension radial to the flash lamp 120. Similarly, the laser cavity flow tube 135 surrounds the flash lamp 130 in a dimension radial to the flash lamp 130. The laser cavity flow tubes 125, 135, filter out undesirable ultraviolet and infrared light emitted by the flash lamps 120, 130. The laser cavity flow tubes 125, 135, further attenuate to a desired level the light energy applied to the solid-state laser rod 105. Flash lamp leads 140, 145, 150, 155, connect the flash lamps 120, 130, to a power supply.
However, due to the fragile nature of the solid-state flash lamp pumped laser system, breech mounted laser ignition systems are typically limited to environments with minimal shock and acceleration. Hardening a breech mounted laser ignition system to high shock and acceleration environments would allow the use of laser ignition for weaponry such as a 155 mm howitzer artillery weapon system, which has high shock, vibration, and acceleration due to recoil. The most fragile portions of the solid-state flash lamp pumped laser system are the flash lamps 120, 130, which are typically quartz flash lamps. Hardening the pump chamber would extend the applicability of laser ignition to the high shock and acceleration environment of a 155 mm howitzer artillery weapon system.
Thus, there is need for a hardened pump laser and method of manufacturing the same. The need for such a system has heretofore remained unsatisfied.